Receiving Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposits is routine; sending an ACH payment for the first time can make the banking screen feel less obvious than it should. Direct deposits and processor payouts often use ACH, but banking platforms tend to show the receiving side more clearly than the sending side.
The main risks are bad account details, missed cutoffs, and unclear bookkeeping records that turn a simple payment into follow-up work. To send an ACH payment, collect the recipient's bank details, create or select the payee, enter the amount, choose the payment date and speed, submit before the cutoff, confirm settlement, and save the record.
What is an ACH payment
An ACH payment moves money between two U.S. bank accounts over the Automated Clearing House network, without a paper check or wire. When you run payroll or pay a contractor or vendor by moving money from your business account to theirs, you're usually using ACH.
As a sender, focus on push versus pull. When you pay a contractor, you push an ACH credit: you initiate the payment, and money leaves your account. When a biller charges you, they pull an ACH debit with your authorization. Outbound payments use ACH credits rather than ACH debits.
ACH volume continues to grow, according to Nacha's network statistics, and it's the default rail for most routine domestic business payments.
When to use an ACH payment
Use ACH for domestic payments to recipients you already know when same-week settlement works for the invoice. A recurring rent payment, a monthly vendor bill, or a contractor invoice due later this week usually fits that timing. ACH fits:
Contractor and freelancer invoices
Recurring vendor bills
Rent
Quarterly estimated tax payments
Transfers between your own business accounts
ACH is a common choice for routine business payments when paper checks add mail time and manual tracking. For a domestic payment that occasionally needs to move faster than standard timing, check whether your banking platform offers same-day ACH.
Information you need before sending an ACH payment
Before sending an ACH payment, collect the recipient's legal name, routing number, account number, account type, payment amount, and payment date before you open the transfer screen. For a Friday contractor invoice, having those details ready matters because bad account details are a common reason payments bounce:
Recipient's legal or business name
Routing number
Account number
Account type
Payment amount and intended payment date
The account holder's documented authorization (for ACH debits only)
Verify the routing and account numbers directly with the recipient. Use their invoice or a bank-issued document rather than retyping details from an email thread. The routing number is always the nine-digit one, even if the recipient sends the two numbers in the wrong order. If the invoice lists a business name, use the name tied to the receiving account. A mistyped digit can turn a routine transfer into a multi-day round trip while the payment returns and gets resent.
ACH fraud and account verification
Confirm new payee banking details out-of-band before you send the first payment. Business email compromise is a common vector: a bad actor spoofs a vendor's email and sends "updated" wiring or ACH instructions, and the payment lands in the wrong account. Once an ACH credit posts, recovery is not guaranteed.
Three practices reduce the risk:
Verbal or in-portal confirmation. For any new payee or any change to existing banking details, call the recipient at a number you already have on file—not one from the same email—and read the routing and account numbers back to them.
Micro-deposit verification. Some platforms let you (or the recipient) confirm account ownership with a small test deposit before the first real payment. Use it when the option is available.
A documented change-control step. Log who changed a payee record, when, and against what document. If a fraudulent change slips through, the audit trail is what limits the damage.
Treat unusually urgent requests to update banking details as a fraud signal, even from a name you recognize.
How to send the ACH payment
Confirm the payee record, amount, date, and delivery speed on the transfer screen before you submit. Labels vary by platform, so use the confirmation screen—not the menu name—as the source of truth for the scheduled date, amount, and payee record.
Verify recipient details. Compare the saved payee record against the invoice or bank-issued document before scheduling.
Open the transfer option. Look for "Send money," "ACH," or "Pay a vendor." Some traditional banks require a one-time enrollment for outbound ACH before the option appears.
Enter the recipient's information and the amount. If the invoice is $1,800, enter exactly $1,800 so the debit matches the invoice when you record it. Most platforms save the recipient as a payee for future payments.
Choose speed and payment date. Standard ACH moves on a multi-day banking timeline. Same-day ACH settles the same banking day if you submit before the same-day cutoff. Per Nacha's Same Day ACH schedule, files can be submitted to the ACH operator by 10:30 AM ET, 2:45 PM ET, and 4:45 PM ET, with settlement at 1:00 PM, 5:00 PM, and 6:00 PM ET. Your bank's cutoff for submitting to it will be earlier than these operator deadlines—commonly in the early-to-mid afternoon ET. Same-day ACH is capped at $1 million per payment, per the Nacha fact sheet. You can also schedule a future date so cash leaves your account exactly when you plan.
Review and submit before the cutoff. Payments submitted after your platform's daily cutoff start processing the next banking day. Weekends and bank holidays don't count as business days, so a Friday-afternoon standard ACH may not land as soon as you expect.
Confirm and record. Watch for a completed status, match the debit to the invoice it paid, and save the confirmation. If the payment still shows as scheduled or pending, it hasn't fully settled yet.
Save the confirmation with the invoice, payee name, amount, payment date, and posted debit so the bookkeeping record shows why money left the account. Relay keeps ACH payments next to the transactions you'll reconcile later, so the trail is easier to follow.
What to do when an ACH payment fails or comes back
Correct the return issue before resending a failed ACH payment. If the receiving bank can't apply an ACH payment, it sends the payment back with a return code that identifies the cause, and the money posts back to your account. Return codes follow a standard format (R01, R02, R03, and so on), and most banking platforms translate the code into plain language for you.
Each common return maps to a fix:
Incorrect account number: confirm the details with the recipient, correct the entry, and resend.
Closed account: request updated banking details before resending.
Unlocatable account (often a routing number problem): re-verify both numbers against a bank-issued document, then resend.
Not enough money in your own account at processing time: add money to the account, then reinitiate the payment.
When to escalate to your banking platform:
The return code doesn't clearly map to one of the fixes above, or you're unsure what it means.
The payment went to the wrong recipient. Once an ACH credit has processed, you generally can't pull it back. Contact your platform immediately—catching it before the cutoff gives you the best chance of stopping a mistake.
Repeated attempts with the same saved payee keep returning. Edit the recipient record before resending, or extra delays and possible return fees can stack up depending on your provider.
Set up approvals and keep payee records clean
Once ACH payments become routine, the bigger risk is process drift: saved payees, informal approvals, and scattered confirmations. Assign one person or role to maintain vendor banking details, and require a second review for new recipients or unusually large amounts. Limit who can add or edit payees, and review approval thresholds before ACH becomes the default for larger bills.
On Relay's Grow and Scale plans, role-based user permissions and multi-step approval rules let a second reviewer sign off before a larger payment leaves the account. Use a scheduled payee audit to archive vendors you no longer pay before old details get reused.
If ACH payments are becoming a regular workflow, opening a Relay account lets you send standard ACH (no per-transaction fee). Relay also connects QuickBooks Online or Xero so bank activity flows into your accounting workflow. The result is a payment trail that's easier to match to invoices and cleaner at month-end.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an ACH payment take?
Standard ACH usually settles in 1–2 banking days. Same-day ACH settles the same banking day if submitted before the same-day cutoff. Weekends and bank holidays don't count as business days, so check the expected arrival date on the transfer confirmation screen before you send.
Can I cancel an ACH payment after I send it?
Usually yes, if you act before your platform starts processing it. Once the payment enters the network, you generally can't pull it back. Contact your banking platform right away if you notice the wrong amount, recipient, or account details.
What's the difference between an ACH payment and a wire transfer?
ACH payments move in batches, cost less, and take 1–2 banking days to settle (or the same day if you use same-day ACH). Domestic wires settle individually within hours, and cost more. Neither can be recalled once processing starts, but ACH's slower settlement leaves a longer window to catch a mistake before it does. ACH suits routine domestic payments, while domestic wires suit urgent ones like closings or hard contractual deadlines.
How much does it cost to send an ACH payment?
Pricing varies by platform. Standard ACH is often free or a few cents per transfer at business banking platforms—Relay charges no per-transaction fee for standard ACH, while many traditional banks bundle it into monthly account fees. Same-day ACH is priced separately and usually costs more; Relay charges $5 on Starter, $3 on Grow, and $1 on Scale (with the first 10 per month free on Scale). Check your platform's published fee schedule before choosing same-day delivery.
Is there a limit on how much I can send by ACH?
Your banking platform sets its own per-transfer and daily limits, which commonly range from tens of thousands to over $100,000 per transfer, depending on the platform, account history, plan, and payment type. Same-day ACH has a separate network-wide cap of $1 million per payment, per Nacha. For a payment that exceeds those limits, a wire is the usual alternative.
